Video Vortex Reader II: moving images beyond YouTube

120 Video Vortex Reader II Moving Images Beyond Youtubecollection case studies121artists to have their work placed and contextualized within a collection, particularly if thatcollection is interesting or renowned.Due to time constraints, the role of the curator has not yet been thoroughly researched byNIMk. At the time of writing, a questionnaire targeted towards curators and programmers forart venues and festivals is being undertaken, which seeks to find answers to a set of questionsabout curators’ work process and interests. Which channels do curators mainly usefor finding and evaluating artworks for their future shows? Does the discovery and selectionof new work occur mainly via personal networking, physical visits to festivals, biennials andexhibitions, or does online research play a significant role? Are art journals and magazinesstill important, or is their influence declining? How can an organization such as NIMk be mosthelpful to them?In any case, the Culture Vortex user research has confirmed to NIMk that its added value liesin the unique assets it possesses: expertise and networks, as described above, and in thequality that the NIMk label attaches to works in its collection. Whatever the outcome of thequestionnaire submitted to curators, NIMk will probably benefit from renewed promotion ofits collection, and of bringing it to the media art sector’s attention again via specially curatedprograms, and via specific, personal services, both face-to-face and online.NIMk online catalogue, guided tours through the collection.Middle MenIn the past decade, video art distribution activities in general have slowly declined. This isnot only a reality for NIMk’s collection but for other video art distributors. 34 A similar phenomenonis apparent in many fields that traditionally function as ‘middle men’, especially inmusic, the newspaper business and scientific publishing. 35 When content becomes moreeasily available online, it becomes less unique, and both makers and users benefit from amore direct relation that bypasses the mediating function of middle men. In media art, it isincreasingly the case that curators and programmers of festivals, screenings and exhibitionswill bypass distributors and contact and negotiate with artists directly. For artists themselves,this development has both advantages and drawbacks. It is great that their online presencegives them the opportunity to be visible and easy to find. At the same time, the need toarrange and maintain contacts with curators directly might increase their workload; distributorstypically take a lot of this type of work out of an artist’s hands and are often in a betterposition to negotiate reasonable artist fees. Furthermore, it would be beneficial for many34. Many participants of the yearly video art distributors meeting during the International FilmFestival Rotterdam 2010 shared this observation.35. Helge Tennø is a Norwegian researcher who specializes in online marketing and who describesthe changing markets (and often failing marketing strategies) in the cultural industry, inpublishing and consumer products. Helge Tennø, http://www.180360720.no/ The changing fieldof scientific publishing – with the strongly emerging open access movement which bypasses thescientific publishing industry – is extensively promoted, researched and commented upon byPeter Suber, Lawrence Lessig, Stevan Harnad and others.In a renewed online catalogue, it would be very helpful for curators to be able to store theirpersonal selections and preferences, and to be automatically alerted when new works fromtheir favorite artists, or that concern their own specialist topics, are distributed. Perhaps itwould be beneficial for curators and researchers to temporarily promote their own events andacademic writing via NIMk’s catalogue, if they are using work from the NIMk collection. ForNIMk, this would showcase the breadth of potential applications of its collection; for curatorsand researchers, this is an additional means of promotion.Non-professional AudiencesThe research conducted in the Culture Vortex program also generated discussion and newideas concerning the non-professional audiences that might be interested in NIMk’s collection.Until recently, the online presence of NIMk’s collection – the online catalogue – hasbeen targeted mainly towards professional users. However, the NIMk collection containswork that might interest many people who would not call themselves art lovers, or who havenever heard of NIMk. At the present time, all cultural organizations need to prioritize theeffort to reach people outside the usual circles of art lovers and connoisseurs. They mustmake it possible to expose media art to anyone who might be touched by it – perhaps as anoccasional, spontaneous and serendipitous discovery, but perhaps also in a structural way.The introduction of media art to a wider audience can take place in a number of ways. Forcultural institutions, it can be very beneficial and refreshing to organize activities outside theircomfort zone, via unusual channels. NIMk has organized specially curated programs for culturaland music festivals. For example, in 2004 and 2006 NIMk introduced its collection tomany thousands of people with a program entitled The Big M, which screened works from